Numbat

Myrmecobius fasciatus

Blamed on cats

IUCN Status: Near Threatened

EPBC Threat Rating: Very high

IUCN Claim: “The introduction of the predatory Red Fox and feral cats has had a profound impact and continues to be a major threat today (Friend 2008).’”

Studies in support

Cats were among predators of reintroduced numbats (Friend & Thomas 1994).Numbats were last confirmed in NSW 25 years after cats arrived (Wallach et al. 202X).

Studies not in support

No studies

Is the threat claim evidence-based?

There are no studies linking cats to numbat populations.

Evidence linking Myrmecobius fasciatus to cats. A. Systematic review of evidence for an association between Myrmecobius fasciatus and cats. Positive studies are in support of the hypothesis that cats contribute to the decline of Myrmecobius fasciatus, negative studies are not in support. Predation studies include studies documenting hunting or scavenging; baiting studies are associations between poison baiting and threatened mammal abundance where information on predator abundance is not provided; population studies are associations between threatened mammal and predator abundance. B. Last records of extirpated populations relative to earliest local records of cats. Error bars show record uncertainty range. Predator arrival records were digitized from Abbott 2008.
Evidence linking Myrmecobius fasciatus to cats. A. Systematic review of evidence for an association between Myrmecobius fasciatus and cats. Positive studies are in support of the hypothesis that cats contribute to the decline of Myrmecobius fasciatus, negative studies are not in support. Predation studies include studies documenting hunting or scavenging; baiting studies are associations between poison baiting and threatened mammal abundance where information on predator abundance is not provided; population studies are associations between threatened mammal and predator abundance. B. Last records of extirpated populations relative to earliest local records of cats. Error bars show record uncertainty range. Predator arrival records were digitized from Abbott 2008.

References

Abbott, The spread of the cat, Felis catus, in Australia: re-examination of the current conceptual model with additional information. Conservation Science Western Australia 7 (2008).

Friend, J. A., and N. D. Thomas. “Reintroduction and the numbat recovery programme.” Reintroduction Biology of Australian and New Zealand Fauna’.(Ed. M. Serena.) pp (1994): 189-198.

Wallach et al. 2023 In Submission